Another Bionic Tale (Tail?)

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Waiting for my nighttime appointment to begin at my podiatrist’s office, I did what I always do: I watched the cars and passersby outside. And, as always, the store sign across the street catches my eye – so I glance yet again through the floor-to-length windows with a mixture of envy and acceptance.

Oh, those leggings.. the windbreakers… and the copious pairs of running shoes lining the back wall of the store. How I can see all them in my mind’s eye even if they are out of sight from where I sit.

My bird’s eye perspective gives me a peek into the shoppers inside, a woman rustling through jogging tops on the rack out front. Another woman saunters out the door. I can tell from her form and grace that she is a runner, oh those must be a new pair of Asics (?) Reeboks (?) Nikes (?!) in that bag.

The thought passes through my mind that I look through these stores like most women ogle over what they see in the windows of jewelry stores!

OK, so I’m not running again (YET). But I do have sneakers and my ASICS are best, hands down. I’ve been wearing generations of them going back as long as I started running – and visiting Dr. G. in this office.

I look down at my sneakers and think back to 2 days ago, when I was also in this office, tied up in velcro and wires. Back to Bionics.

This is what my feet looked like when they were strapped in:

And this is what it looked like when the cables were connected, a white double-tail:

The sensors were thrust into action, my feet were calibrated, I could see the hot spots and other pressure points showing up on the screen like a modulating topographical map: oh that red mark, the one that looks like a volcano about to erupt.. does that part correspond to the padding just below my toes?!

So fine, I’m not running any marathons, triathlons and I don’t shop at the Running Room these days. But hey, Lee Majors would be proud. And anyway, I’ve donated the use of my feet to the science of podiatry, orthotics and biomechanics; so, amen to that.